


little bit of vanilla

by paperplanesx



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:26:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22086355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperplanesx/pseuds/paperplanesx
Summary: “Hi, my name’s Son Chaeyoung. I brought you coffee to keep you warm.”“You...You're...a good friend.”Based on a prompt I saw where two people meet and not knowing each other's languages.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 5
Kudos: 88





	little bit of vanilla

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little scene that popped into my head and wrote it down. I hope you have fun reading this one :)

Inhale. Exhale. Sip. Repeat.

  
  


Inhale. Exhale. Sip. Repeat.

  
  


_ Come on, Chaeng. Focus. _

  
  


She might have regretted doing her final requirement up to the last minute. Thinking about it and ways to execute it is easy, but actually doing it is a different story altogether. However, she never regrets taking a few days off the moment she finished all of her final exams. Now looking over the question she needed to answer, Chaeyoung pursed her lips and contemplated whether or not she should submit it late.

  
  


Writing the final essay when inspired is easy, they say. But when the inspiration is the 11:59 PM deadline in a week’s time, all she gets is a writer's block. She tried listening to different kinds of music to get her going, but none of them gave her the nudge to finish it in one go. She had it all planned in her head, from forming the main argument of her essay to its supporting statements, but the more she recalls her initial plan, the more ridiculous it seemed and impossible to be applied in a real life situation, should she ever have an encounter like this. Running a hand through her hair in frustration, Chaeyoung decides to close her laptop for now and take a breather.  _ Out of all the papers I needed to submit, why did I forget this one? _

  
  


She then approached the barista by the counter. “Unnie, can you look out for my table for a while?” She asks.

  
  


The girl at the bar gives her an amused look. “Let me guess...you're cramming a requirement again.”

  
  


Chaeyoung clicked her tongue. “I can't argue with that, considering I'm a regular here after all.”

  
  


“And I'm definitely not surprised.”

  
  


“Unnie…”

  
  


Laughter. “Alright, alright. Don't take too long, okay?”

  
  


“Thanks Nayeon-unnie.”

  
  


Chaeyoung leaves the coffee shop, giving herself a few moments to breathe and look around. The city is busy at night, as always, with working people going to bus stops to catch their rides or take a quick dinner in fast food chains. The hustle never stops but she couldn’t blame them for being in such a hurry all the time. 

  
  


She was once in their position, back when her parents didn’t allow her to have an apartment near her university. It was tiring as hell especially during the semester when she was forced to take classes past 5 PM. She needed it in order to advance to her major classes, but she has to face the gruesome commute life as well. It took at least 3 breakdowns in the middle of the night (with complaints about the lack of sleep and late submissions due to fatigue) in order for her parents to start looking for apartments with affordable rents. 

  
  


She chuckles at the thought of it, wondering how she survived that as she strolled around the block. To Chaeyoung, unwinding meant long duration of walks around the city. It’s as if unwanted thoughts that dwells her mind goes away with every step she takes, and by magic, she finds herself again where she started. After that, she finishes what she writes with ease. 

  
  


_ Sonder _

  
  


It's a word she found previously in the internet. Chaeyoung recalled the feeling where she imagines the life of a stranger that she passed by, making scene after scene just by a single glance, and then be fascinated on how it ends. She did write about the word in her previous essays, and to make another one would be too much. Her professor does have high standards when it comes to the final requirement so she has to try at least meet the bare minimum.

  
  


Being a creative writing major has its pros and its cons, apparently.

  
  


“Welcome back!” Nayeon's voice was heard all around in the tiny coffee shop. 

  
  


Chaeyoung approached her friend, a smile on her face. “Did you look out for my things?”

  
  


“Yeah, but...”

  
  


The second year student raised a brow. Though she isn't fond of the thought that someone might be sharing a table with her, Nayeon might have some reason why she resorted to that resolution. After all, it's in her nature to accommodate everyone who enters the shop.

  
  


Upon seeing Chaeyoung's expression, Nayeon could only muster a sheepish response. “Sorry. I—”

  
  


“It's okay unnie,” Chaeyoung laughs quietly, pulling out her wallet from her jeans pocket. “Did she already bought something?”

  
  


“How'd you know it's a she?”

  
  


“You always make sure a man doesn't sit on my table, Nay.”

  
  


The other girl hums, looking over Chaeyoung's shoulder briefly before attending to her. “She only bought a doughnut, so there's that.”

  
  


“I'll have two cups of caffe latte then, but could you add a little bit of vanilla in the second one?” Chaeyoung requested, which made Nayeon raise her brows in question. “I’m just thinking maybe she wants it a little sweet compared to the usual, since she buys a doughnut and all.”

  
  


Nayeon giggled. “You and your keen observation. All right then. I’ll prep it for you.”

  
  


Chaeyoung then peered at her usual spot. Instead of seeing an empty seat with a notepad and laptop laid on top of the coffee table, the sight was blocked by a girl sitting in the other chair. Her back was hunched by an inch or two, and by the looks of it, she’s wearing a rather thin coat in this harsh weather hence the slight shivers coming from her shoulders. Guess getting hot coffee is one of the best decisions Chaeyoung made this day.

  
  


After a few minutes, Nayeon hands out Chaeyoung’s order, the paper cups immediately warming her hands the moment she holds them. She silently thanks the older girl before going back to her spot, but she didn’t want to startle the stranger who’s sitting across her seat. So she tapped her shoulder, along with a question in a gentle tone. 

  
  


“Is this seat occupied?”

  
  


As the girl turned around to meet her gaze, Chaeyoung felt the air sucked out of her lungs, and she nearly dropped the coffee on the spot. Because she never knew how can  _ those  _ brown eyes stir her up just by looking at them. 

  
  


The girl, however, never noticed how stunned Chaeyoung is in front of her. She seemed to struggle in conveying what she wanted to say, but nevertheless, she managed to give a short reply that is quickly understood.

  
  


“Yes.”

  
  


“Did the woman at the counter told you to take a seat here while the owner is not around?”

  
  


A pause. Then her response. “Yes.”

  
  


Chaeyoung grins and hands out the coffee cup to her, ignoring the erratic beats of her heart. “Hi, my name’s Son Chaeyoung. I brought you coffee to keep you warm.”

  
  


The girl gives a small smile in return, taking the cup silently which surprised her because she received no other response than that. Chaeyoung then takes her seat in front of her, rearranging her things to clear the table when the other girl spoke again.

  
  


“Chingu…”

  
  


Chaeyoung looks at her curiously. “Come again?”

  
  


“Na...yeon…” The girl says, struggling to pronounce the name of the barista. “She...said not to let anyone sit...because...a chingu takes this table.”

  
  


The creative writing major then looks at Nayeon for a moment, who smiles at her innocently before she attended to a customer. Chaeyoung shakes her head in disbelief. “That girl and her antics.” She muttered under her breath. Being friends with Nayeon is one the best things that happened the moment she entered university, but it also comes with a lot of things and it includes this one: setting her up with girls whenever she’s at the coffee shop to study or passing by.

  
  


“Chae...young?” Right, she has a visitor.

  
  


“Yes?”

  
  


“Are you…chingu?”

  
  


Chaeyoung nods, confirming the girl’s suspicion. “You can sit here, I really don’t mind.” She says with a smile before she went back to arranging her things in her bag. 

  
  


The girl hums in agreement before taking a sip from her coffee. Out of the corner of her eye, Chaeyoung hoped she would like the vanilla added in her drink. Otherwise she would embarrass herself and Nayeon wouldn’t hear the end of it. It would obviously make her Christmas week, to say the least. 

  
  


“This is good,” The girl commented happily. “Goes well...with the doughnut.”

  
  


Chaeyoung perked up upon hearing the good news. “I’m glad you liked it. The doughnut is actually Nayeon’s recipe. It's one of the best here.” 

  
  


The girl blinks, before speaking again slowly. “You...You’re...a good friend.” 

  
  


Though her pronunciation is good, Chaeyoung can’t help but notice how she tends to pause in between her sentences, as if she’s recalling her own language unless she isn’t a native speaker or she didn’t grow up in the country. So she pulled out a small notebook from her bag and wrote a few words which can be easily understood. She showed it to the girl, who initially received the gesture with a mixture of shock and confusion. After a few moments, she writes her reply. 

  
  


_ I am not a Korean. My name is Chou Tzuyu and I’m from Taiwan. _

  
  


Chaeyoung raised her eyebrows at the change of the text upon reading her name, and then writes a response of her own, giving it afterwards for Tzuyu to read. The moment she saw it, she looked like a huge burden was lifted off her shoulders.

  
  


_ Let me introduce myself again in Chinese, though the construction might be poor. My name is Son Chaeyoung, and I live here in Korea. I’m a second year college student. _

  
  


“ _ Where did you learn Chinese?”  _ Tzuyu couldn’t believe she can finally speak in her own language, realizing she’s been tense throughout the whole interaction.

  
  


“ _ I took Chinese 10 this semester, and I watched videos online. _ ” Chaeyoung replied slowly, making sure she doesn't mess it up. It felt weird, not speaking her native tongue. But if it meant giving comfort to the beautiful stranger named Tzuyu, she wouldn’t have it any other way. “ _ But I’m not yet confident about it. _ ”

  
  


So Tzuyu writes something from Chaeyoung’s small notebook and hands it to her, the text written in Chinese.

  
  


_ But you can read this, right? _

  
  


Soft laughter. “ _ I try. _ ”

  
  


The other girl writes again.  _ I pronounce my name as Chewy, like the English word. _

  
  


“I figured as much.” Chaeyoung unconsciously switches back to her language, which Tzuyu understands. “Would you like to converse like this for a while?”

  
  


She could practically hear the rough scratches coming from the tip of the ballpoint pen against the paper, indicating Tzuyu’s writing pace, before showing her response again.

  
  


_ If you could teach me Korean, we could. Right? _

  
  


For the first time in months, Chaeyoung laughed out loud. She didn’t know why, but it felt like that. Maybe because she never knew how a conversation with a complete stranger—a foreigner at that—and realized how everything turned out to be better than she had expected. Forming this kind of connection in this bustling coffee shop is definitely something new, and she likes it.

  
  


Chaeyoung smiles, remembering the question of the final essay in her head. “You’ll teach me Chinese then?”

  
  


Another written response.  _ We can work on that _ .

  
  


( _ How do you express your thoughts and feelings to someone who cannot understand your language? _ )

  
  


Looking at Tzuyu, her head bowed down slightly out of shyness and her lips curled upward forming a smile, Chaeyoung knew that maybe she'll find her answer along the way. After all, it's a worthwhile experience.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh I love Chaeyu. They're adorable.
> 
> Should I write more about them or leave it as it is? Lemme know what you think :)
> 
> Twitter: @smiledahmihyo


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